Jinchuuriki at Peace
by Shyrie Arliana Jumlin
Summary: At story of how one girl stood up to the vitumization of little Gaara...
1. Chapter 1

Jinchūriki at Peace

This is a Gaara story where one girl stood up and fought against the rage directed towards the 6-year old "demon." In the past, I've written about Link and how he's became mute and how he deals with his life after given a chance at speech. But that's not what this story is. Not even remotely. I've been a Naruto fan for a while and own a lot of the franchise. (We'll get to that later) So after watching the 6th season for the 100th time over, I thought that I could make a convincing story out of a split-second decision of the past. You can R&R as much as you want but please don't hate me for what I am about to do to our precious psychopathic Gaara. (Well he was psycho **BEFORE** fighting Naruto!)

Disclaimer: I own many things that relate to Naruto. Some include a Leaf and Sand Village Headbands. Well actually, I traded the Leaf for the Sand in '08 but I HAD a Leaf Headband and that's what counts. I have the 1st volume of the manga and a make-shift Hinata costume I use during Halloween but by no means do I own the original concepts or artistry.

333333LONG LIVE MASASHI KISHIMOTO-SENSEI!333333

Chapter one:

In the Land of Wind stood a village. This village was hidden by the sand that surrounded it. The desert provided a natural defense against foreign invaders and the ninja whose home lay just beyond the man-made wall of stone remained ever vigilant in case of attack. Yes, Sunagakure seemed to those outside the village like one of the most guarded villages in the Five Great Nations. But to those inside, fear of death was at the forefront of every man, woman, and child's minds. Why, you may ask? What could possibly frighten a single village the size of a large city to the point of hatred? Would you believe me if I told you that a child was to blame? A mere child, 6- years-old. Well, this child was no ordinary kid to begin with. For starters, his father was Kazekage, Sunagakure's leader and head honcho. Then, of course, comes the fact that within this boy, a power unlike anything imaginable was sealed away. How is this possible, you ask? Why? Before I explain, you must understand one thing; the people of Suna are very independent and do not want to rely on other villages for support. To insure that the village would have someone whom no one would dare fight against in an assault on the village, the Kazekage had the village's top advisor infuse a sand spirit named Shukaku with in his son's body while still in the womb. As a result, the mother lost her life giving birth to this child and the village had the most powerful weapon ever thought of. The child grew up, spoiled and trained in the ways of the ninja until it became clear to all that this boy, this innocent looking child, would become too powerful to control. The fear of this child had been spreading well before this conclusion was reached. None of the children would play with him, mothers rushed their families inside at the sight of him, and even grown men begged for mercy when they bumped into him. The people learned to fear him and hate grew from that until paranoia was in full bloom. All the while, the boy could not understand why everyone would run away from him. It made no sense. He tried being nice to them but they only turned and screamed. On top of the already long developed insomnia the boy had from carrying the Shukaku for 6 years, the reactions of the people angered him and lead to many's unfortunate deaths. It seemed all hope was gone for Little Gaara; no on would talk or look at him; his own father looked at him in disgust, and nothing could heal the pain he felt in his heart. But one day on the playground changed all that.

The kids were playing a game of soccer on a brilliantly sunny day. Only a few were there; about 3 or 4 boys and couple of girls. As usual, Little Gaara was left to swing under a tree in the darkness. The laughter and squeals of happiness grew in Little Gaara's ears so he could try to feel included. With his head down and Teddy on his lap, Little Gaara made no attempt to ask the players if he could join. He'd tried it and before he could ask, everyone had run. He'd rather pretend they'd let him play then have another memory of frightened kids. Little Gaara was so busy staring at the dirt that he didn't notice one girl who wouldn't stop taking glances at him. She was a girl about Little Gaara's age with an oval face and silver hair cascading down to her waist.

"POWERSHOT!" one of the boys yelled as he kicked the ball towards the goal. The ball flew up into the air and onto the cliff next to the field. "Oops." "Now what are we going to play with?" "Can anybody use the wall-climbing justu?" As the kids stared helplessly up at the ball and complained, the girl took another glance at Little Gaara. He had his darkened eyes on the ball too. All of a sudden, everything was quiet. She looked back at the ball and found it was floating down on a cloud of sand. The ball glided away from the kids and towards Little Gaara who had left Teddy by the swing and stood nearby the group. The sand dropped back down to Earth when it hit Little Gaara's hands. "Is that…?" "It's that Gaara kid!" "He's creepy…" The kids all looked at Little Gaara with fear and were afraid to move or stay. All but the girl; she looked at him with grateful eyes and surprise. She had been told by her mother to stay away from him, that he was a monster that would kill her as soon as look at her. But she could see something different in him as he offered the ball back saying, "Here." Cries erupted from behind the girl as the kids screamed, "Run!" Little Gaara's eyes widened in surprise and hurt. "Wait!" he called, "Don't run!" He reached his hand out and a slither of sand started to move at his feet.

"Hold on." The scene froze. The girl had stopped everyone with so few words. Even Little Gaara had settled the sand around him and was staring at the girl with more surprise than before. She started towards him while the kids behind called for her to came back. "Are you nuts? You don't know what he'll do to you!" "Why are you going towards that monster?" "He'll kill you if you get too close!" Horrible things kept coming to try and convince her to run. "Oh, shut up!" She spat at them. They recoiled as if they just had been hit. She turned back to the boy in front of her. Little Gaara had lowered the ball and continued to stare at her. Her eyes held him in a trance. They were hazel but instead of brown around the irises, hers were ivory. The colors of the pupils were lavender instead of a blue or green. These strangely colored pools shone with gratitude. She reached for the ball and pulled it towards her chest. "Thank you very much for getting the ball back for us." Little Gaara just blinked as he tried to believe what was happening. Someone was actually being nice to him. One person out of the entire village looked at him with happiness. Not disgust. Not fear. Happiness! He couldn't understand why so he said softly to her, "Sure." She smiled at him, sweetly. "See, guys? He's not a mons…" she started to say to rest of the kids but when she looked, all had run away. She sighed deeply and turned back to Little Gaara but he was gone too. He had retreated back to Teddy and the swing. She followed and sat at the bottom of the tree. They just sat there in silence for a while, and then Little Gaara said softly, "Why?" The girl looked at him; he had his head down again and was gripping Teddy tightly as he nudged the dirt with his shoe. "Why were you nice to me back there? Aren't you afraid of me?" He spoke to the dirt more than her. "Well," she answered, "I see what the others do to you, how they treat you like some plague or something and I don't think it's fair." Little Gaara snuck a peek at her; she was staring out at the spot where the kids had been before running. He looked towards it, too. "I know what they say about you, to your face or not. I hear it all the time. They say the meanest things. And I know it hurts because I see how you look at them after, with anger and hate. But it's not just the kids. It's everyone in the village. Aunts and Uncles. Moms and Dads. Grandmas and Grandpas. Not one of them sees you as you really are." "But they do see me for what I truly am!" Little Gaara interrupted. He turned his eyes towards her again. "That's why they treat me like this." "No," she said firmly to him. She met his gaze and told him boldly, "They only see the Demon inside of you. Just because that thing lives in you doesn't mean it is you." Silence hovered over them again as the two tried to stare each other down. Little Gaara faltered and looked in his lap at Teddy. He shouldn't be trying to convince her that he's something worth running from. He had been alone so long that he didn't think anything would change for him. He couldn't imagine anyone caring. It hurt so much and he didn't know what to do to heal the wound in his heart. "I guess, what I'm trying to get at is that you shouldn't let others tell you who you are." She looked down at the dirt ground. "I don't blame you for not wanting to be alone anymore, by the way." Little Gaara's eyes widened and turned towards her again in amazement. _How could she know how I feel?_ "I mean, if I were treated as badly as you are, I would feel lonely and sad and think there was no way out. I'd be living with a dark cloud over my head all the time. Honestly," she looked at him again and smiled, "I don't know how you do it."

That image stayed with Little Gaara for a lifetime; the one person who didn't treat him like a monster smiling up at him as the fading sunlight danced across her pale skin. He could feel the heat rising up to his face as he took it all in. The silent sound of shifting sand filled the air and the girl made a questioning sound as she opened her eyes. The sand infront of her was moving and building of its own accord. "Are you…?" she questioned, still transfixed on the grains. "Here…" Little Gaara said as the sand's form settled into a teddy bear. "Now, you don't have to be alone anymore either… though I don't know if you need it or not. But the way you talk, it sounds like you know what kind of hurt I feel." Little Gaara reached down with a free hand and grabbed the sand bear; it kept its shape but squished out like it was made of cotton, and held it out to her with a little smile.

"Wow, Gaara, I… I really don't know what to say," she said as she took the present. "I mean, I haven't even told you my name…"

Stupidity hit Little Gaara like a brick. "Oh, yeah…" _God, I must seem like a real dummy, giving someone whose name I don't even know a present! Way to push another one away…_ Gloomy, Little Gaara sighed and looked back in his lap at Teddy. His hand was holding the plushy to his chest as the other held the swing's chain.

A beat or two of quiet then, "It's Anya." Little Gaara felt a little better inside as he repeated the name. "Anya." It felt good as it rolled off his tongue, like honey filled to the brim with sweetness. Suddenly, Little Gaara was forced out of the swing and on to the ground as Anya laid on top of him with Sand Teddy. A wetness slowly seeped through Little Gaara's shirt as he realized she was crying silently into his shoulder. He sat up and moved so she was sitting with bend legs to one side, leaning on him while he had his legs crossed and arms around her shaking back. Teddy lay beside them. Little Gaara would rather have human warmth and skin against him then artificial stuffing in his hand so he made no attempt to grab it. He had never had anyone this close to him before. Not his dad, he didn't have any friends, not even Yashamaru, who was the only one he felt close to, had dared to grab him like this. But, new as it was, it felt good. It felt good to have someone touch him and the pain in Little Gaara's heart eased a bit. The reason was Anya and he knew it. This girl who wept in his arms was helping heal him in a way he felt no one else could. Unlike a wound to the skin, a wound to the heart took a special kind of medicine, love. He held her tighter as she nestled her head closer to his neck, stifling a moan. He smelled of fresh earth and iron from the blood he had spilt and the sand he used but she didn't mind. She was crying for a lot of reasons. She was crying for herself. She was crying out of frustration at the village for treating Little Gaara like this. But most of all, "I'm *sob* cry… *sob* …ing mostly because *sob* you *sob* refuse to cry *sob* yourself." He had never been in this situation before but he was going to try something. "I know it seems like I know what to do," he told her. "But the truth is that, most of the time, I'm confused. I try to understand but nothing ever makes sense. Then I get sad and want to curl up and cry but I can't. When I do, people get hurt. Anger comes out. So how am I supposed to cry if the people around me get hurt? I don't want to hurt people." Anya had calmed down and now listened silently. She pulled back enough to see his face. She kept her hand on his chest and Sand Teddy on her lap in her free arm. "I especially don't want to hurt people like you." She blinked and stammered, "But… you don't even know me! You hadn't even met me until today!" "Doesn't matter," stated Little Gaara. "But…" Anya started but was cut off by Little Gaara's hand on her mouth. "You're the second person who has talked to me like I'm worth something, like I'm important. That helps me better understand the pain I feel here," he grabbed at the clothing over his heart with his free hand. "This wound hurts all the time and until today, I didn't know how to heal it. But thanks to you, I know what I need. That makes me want you to be safe." He put his hands in his lap. Her eyes were wet with unshed tears. He really liked to fall into those ivory and lavender eyes, just lose himself in them. She took his hands in her own and squeezed. "Thank you, Gaara," said Anya. Little Gaara felt the heat in his face again but didn't care. That, he figured, was part of the cure. He pulled her to him again in a hug as she threw Sand Teddy by Teddy. "No. Thank you, Anya." As they sat there on the ground in each others arms, Sand Teddy landed next to Teddy in an almost exact pose.

End Chapter

Okay so here's the first chapter, its mainly just explanations and stuff but please stick with this since I think this one is really cute! Okay, my peeps. Until the next update! 3


	2. Chapter 2

Jinchūriki at Peace

This is a Gaara story where one girl stood up and fought against the rage directed towards the 6-year old "demon." In the past, I've written about Link and how he's became mute and how he deals with his life after given a chance at speech. But that's not what this story is. Not even remotely. I've been a Naruto fan for a while and own a lot of the franchise. (We'll get to that later) So after watching the 6th season for the 100th time over, I thought that I could make a convincing story out of a split-second decision of the past. You can R&R as much as you want but please don't hate me for what I am about to do to own precious psychopathic Gaara.

Disclaimer: In my entourage of Naruto stuff that I own seasons 1-6 and 8 on English DVD and Seasons 6 and 7 in Japanese are currently on my computer. There are also some other random episodes on my computer but none go farther than _Episode 94 Attack! Fury of the Rasengan_. I also have a few games: Naruto: Clash of Ninja 1 and 2 for the Gamecube, Ultimate Ninja and Uzumaki Chronicles 1 and 2 for the Playstation 2 Clash of Ninja: Revolutions for the Wii and Naruto: Path of the Ninja for the Nintendo DS. I got a lot of movies including Naruto the Movie 3: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, Clash of Ninja in the Land of Snow and a Naruto: Mission: Protect the Waterfall Village. But by no means do I own any of the original copyrights, designs, artistry, or things of that nature.

Chapter Two: Anya's Past

For a while they stayed like that, hugging each other on the ground until one of them realized that it was getting darker and needed to go home. So as both the kids walked off the field and towards the village, Little Gaara asked Anya a question that had been bugging him since she started crying.

"Hey, Anya?" "Yeah," "Ummm… why were you crying?" She stopped and hung her head. Little Gaara turned back and stopped. Anya had been walking slow and ended up behind him several times. "I…ummm" she didn't know where to start and she wasn't even sure she wanted to say the reason. There were a lot of reasons why she started crying before. "I guess I was just happy for the present," she said very plain and dryly as she stroked the Sand Teddy in her hand. She still hung her head as she started walking again. Little Gaara knew that wasn't it but wasn't sure if he should push again. Both headed very slowly down a path through the village. The night air felt fresh and unchained as it grazed Anya's face. _Nothing like it is at home_ she thought. _If I could I would just sit out here and stare at the moon and not have to go back to that place again!_ She stopped again and took a long look at the silver ball that floated above. She closed her eyes and let its glow fill her up. She drank it in, feeling a little stronger with every passing moment. When she was like this, she felt she could do anything. She sighed as the feeling passed and opened her eyes. Little Gaara was staring at her with curious eyes. He wasn't sure how to describe it but he was pretty sure he felt some kind of force pulling him toward Anya when she was looking at the moon. _Maybe I just want her to hug me again_ he thought. Anya took a deep breath of night air and said, "One of the reasons I was crying before was because I felt just like you did." Little Gaara stood still and fixed his full attention on her. "I was alone, sad, and felt pretty much hopeless." "Why would you say that?" Little Gaara questioned. "You looked so happy playing with everyone." "Yeah," she said sarcastically, "I was real happy playing soccer with the boys!" She stopped for a moment to calm down. "Sorry. No, I really don't know any of them. Most of the kids would rather jump off a building than play with me. They think I'm scary." Little Gaara was astonished. "Why would they think you're scary? You're not scary at all! I think you're kinda cu…" He stopped himself before he could say any more. His face want hot as he stared at the ground, desperately hoping she didn't hear that. **"They think I'm scary because my family's dead!"** An eerie silence filled the night air after Anya's yell disappeared. Little Gaara raised his head to find that Anya had sunk to the ground again with her head in her knees. Her arms were locked infront of her with the Sand Teddy in one hand. Little Gaara walked back and sat beside her. She was crying again but with good reason. After a few minutes of silence Anya lifted her head to put her chin on her knees. She stared ahead with a hate that rivaled Little Gaara's. Tears had etched tracks into her dirt-stained cheeks. "My father was the head of Suna's Tsukumiza clan. There weren't very many in the clan, just me, my older sister, my parents, grandparents and a few aunts and uncles. I only had one cousin. But, because there were so few of us, the rest of the village hated us, said we didn't have enough to form a proper clan and that we should integrate with another to make up for it. Father didn't like that idea at all and got mad at anyone who mentioned we weren't good enough for Suna." She paused then went on. "My grandparents were close to death so we looked to them before they died. They said that we should stay strong and not let the village define us. Sound familiar?" She looked at Little Gaara without turning her head. He nodded and she continued. "After their deaths, my parents became heads of the clan because my father was oldest. My uncle was fine with it, he didn't do well with pressure, but my aunt wanted her husband to be head, despite the fact that he was youngest. She felt that he had dealt with most of the issues my grandparents had given the younger family therefore had been more prepared for the job. Both her husband and my parents protested, saying that to allow a younger sibling to lead the clan would be showing the whole village that the clan was weak and then a new wave of attacks would come at them. My aunt refused to believe that and killed her husband before killing herself. I guess she thought that by doing that the clan, which she had no feelings towards anymore, would be crippled and break under an unstable leader. The whole family took the murder-suicide hard but carried on telling that the deaths had been a terrible accident involving the ninja of neighboring countries. The village didn't go after the accused killers because they believed that my clan was too weak to be of any use. So for a while, everything was fine. But one night, someone broke into the home and burned it to the ground. I was out walking by the village entrance so by the time I heard that the house was on fire all was lost." At this, Anya spilt a few tears and didn't care if they showed or were wiped away. She took a shaking breath and said with a controlled fury "Every member of my family was killed in that house fire, Gaara. Every last one." Anya choked up and bit her lip to stop from crying out. Little Gaara spoke for her, "You're the last one." She nodded. Now he understood why she was crying. Before giving her the Sand Teddy he had told her that she wouldn't be lonely anymore either. _Maybe I shouldn't have given her that bear after all… _

After a few more minutes, Anya was calm again and they continued to their homes, he to the Kazekage's home and she to the orphanage. All was quiet and still. Both knew there was little to talk about so neither tried to strike up a conversation. A fork in the road presented itself and stopped the pair in their tracks. "I have to go this way…" Anya said sadly. They stood there for a moment before things became a blur of memory. Anya had dropped the Sand Teddy, Little Gaara stood with arms spread, she had jumped to him; they felt that they would never let go of each other. Anya had saved Little Gaara from the edge of darkness and he had seen her at her most recent low point. After all that had transpired that day, they had connected and would never be separated again. Finally, Anya loosened her grip on Little Gaara and pulled back to arm's length. Little Gaara's face got red as he quickly let go and rushed to retrieve the Sand Teddy. Anya fixed her hair back behind her and dusted off the dirt from her clothes and face. Little Gaara returned to her the present and said, "Ummm… Anya?" Little Gaara had an idea but he wanted to make sure it was alright with Anya first. "Yeah…" she said. "Do you want to keep the bear or would you rather have something else instead?" He thought that the bear would be too much for her to keep. If she would like him to, he could make it into anything she wanted, like a heart or flowers. Something a little more girly than a sand version of his Teddy. "That's a really nice offer Gaara but I think I'll keep the bear." She held the bear against her chest and stroked its head. "I can keep this bear by me and know that somewhere you're wishing me to be safe and not alone." Little Gaara looked down at the sand bear and was glad that she understood. He had made the bear with his own sand and anything he build or made with it felt very special to him. He had been told by Yashamaru that his mother's will was in every grain of the sand and that her love was what protected him when he was in danger. He had given Anya the sand bear so that she could be protected in the event of danger. It would scrabble to protect Anya like a shield then return to its bear form after the threat went away. It was the only thing that he could hope to give her that would protect her from harm. If she did what she said she was going to do, about keeping the bear with her at all times, then she would be fine when he wasn't there to protect her himself. He didn't give something like this to Yashamaru because he was an adult and could protect himself. He was a part of the medical core, after all.

With that the two went about their separate paths, knowing they'd see each other again soon. Little Gaara thought about what had happened that day. He had gone to the playground to play with the sand there but then the kids had come and he had retreated to the swing. Had he gone to his father's room like he'd been told to, he would have never met Anya. Sure the kids ran but all that mattered to him was the girl that had stayed. Just one day earlier, he had had a conversation with Yashamaru about what pain felt like. He had seen him trying to cut himself but the sand protected him. "It's no use. The sand interferes…" He had said to himself. Then Yashamaru came in and said "Gaara-sama, please don't do such a thing in front of me. As the head of the village's medical core, I was asked by the Kazekage to personally see to your wellbeing. Please, it hurts me to see you do that." He had felt bad for trying to hurt himself in front of the only person then that had shown any kind of care towards him. That hurt both him and Yashamaru. He had put his head down in shame. Yashamaru reassured him that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. "But then again, the sand will protect you." Still, he had felt the need to apologize for his actions and he had. Yashamaru looked at the bandages that covered his arm. Little Gaara had accidentally hurt him earlier in the day. "What, these? They're just scratches. " Still, Little Gaara felt bad about it and thought it better to change the subject. "Yashamaru, do wounds hurt?" He answered, "A little bit, but they will heal." Little Gaara wasn't so sure that he got what he was trying to ask so he tried again. "What does pain feel like?" Yashamaru was a little taken aback by the question. "You see, I've never actually been injured before and I was wondering what it felt like." Now Yashamaru saw and sighed. "How should I explain this… Pain is…. unbearable and upsetting. Like when a person is shot or cut, it's a feeling that is very hard to take. You don't feel normal." Little Gaara just stared at him with a confused look in his eyes. "I'm not explaining this very but basically it's a situation you want to avoid if at all possible." Little Gaara couldn't help but feel like he ought to cry. He had caused Yashamaru pain. He had been the one to hurt him and that shouldn't have happened. The bandages around Yashamaru's wounds were proof of that. Again, that bad feeling welled up inside and Little Gaara had no clue what to do to make it stop. He felt that Yashamaru would hate him for hurting him. "Yashamaru…do you hate me like everyone else?" Yashamaru wasn't sure how to respond and simply said, "People hurt one another and get hurt during a lifetime but it' not so easy for us to hate each other." He reassured the boy with gentle eyes. Little Gaara perked up immediately and said, "Thank you, Yashamaru, I think I kinda understand what pain is now!" He closed his eyes. "Maybe, I'm hurting too. Just like everyone else….. I'm always in pain." The child grabbed the clothing over his heart and pulled. "Though I know I'm not bleeding, my chest always hurts…right here….." A moment passed as both listened to the sandstorm outside. Yashamaru then walked over and took the blade from Little Gaara's hands and cut his right rind finger. Little Gaara gasped as he watched the blood spill over onto the rug. "Blood flows from a wound to the body to ease the pain and help heal the wound. The pain goes away over time and medicine can help heal the wound even faster. But what's more dangerous is a wound to the heart because there is nothing that has more trouble healing." Yashamaru said. "A wound to the heart?" Little Gaara questioned." Yashamaru continued, "Wounds to the heart are a little different than wounds to the flesh. Unlike an injury to the body, there is no medicine for a wounded heart and sometimes it never heals." Little Gaara felt gloomy once more and grabbed at his chest again. _If that's true than there's nothing that can heal this pain I feel_…

"But don't worry," Yashamaru explained. "There is one thing that can heal a wounded heart. It is a troublesome medicine and can only be given to you by another." Yashamaru looked to the picture of his sister sitting on the table next to them. Little Gaara yelled in desperation, "What? What to I need to do?" He than noticed that he wasn't looking at him and turned his head as well. "Don't you get, Gaara, it's already been given to you." "What?" "It's love, Gaara." "Love?" Little Gaara didn't understand. "But…But how am I supposed to get rid of it? What do I have to do to get rid of this pain?" "Don't you see?" Yashamaru again looked at the picture. "Love…is the spirit of devoting yourself to someone important and close to you…It is expressed by caring for and protecting that person. Just like my big sister did for you. There's no question that my big sister always loved you, Gaara. The Sand Spirit Shukaku is a living soul bent towards the purpose of war. The sand automatically rushes to protect you…just like the love of a mother. I believe that your mother's will is carried in every grain of that sand. My sister, even after dying, wants to protect you still." Little Gaara felt a lot better. "Thank you very much, Yashamaru." He just smiled and put his injured finger to his mouth. "Why, you're very welcome. After all, you're special, Gaara. I hold you very dearly to my heart." Little Gaara steeped forward and grabbed his hand. Yashamaru pulled back but then thought it better to let him see the blood. He'd never seen it before. Little Gaara opened his mouth and covered the bleeding finger. Yashamaru's demeanor changed and he stiffened a bit. Little Gaara didn't know it but he was asking if he could feel the pain that he feels. After a minute Little Gaara let go and said, "It tastes like iron."

As the flashback past, Little Gaara he had reached his house. The Kazekage's home wasn't very much; just a sand building like all the rest along with a few other things to distinguish it from the others. Little Gaara walked in and headed up the stairs to the roof. The sand was calm and the moon was full. Tonight would be a perfect night for star gazing. He swung his legs over the railing and sat there staring up at the sky.

After a brief moment, the silent sound of kunai and shifting sand made Little Gaara turn. A wall of sand had risen between him and a sand shinobi! _What…?_ Little Gaara turned the enemy target. _Why? Why am I the only one who has to go through all this! What am I? What did I do?_ The Shinobi's floating kunai flew right at Little Gaara with a wave of their master's hand. The wall of sand grew to cover all of Little Gaara's left side and exploded, sending back the weapons meant to kill him. _Why? Why do I have to be the one to be killed? Why can't you die first! _ Thoughts of terrible things ran through Little Gaara's mind as he ordered the sand to surround his opponent. It obeyed without question. It wanted to kill so badly. It wanted to taste fresh blood. The sand suspended itself in the air at Little Gaara's will. _Die!_ The sand imploded and sent a rain of blood showering under the moonlit night.

After all was said a done, Little Gaara looked at the body in fear. _Did I kill him? Is he really dead?_ "Why?" He questioned aloud. It was only then that Little Gaara noticed the bandage that wrapped around the Shinobi's right ring finger. With a gasp and a gulp, he prayed that he didn't just kill his uncle. He reached down and torn off the face mask to reveal his worst nightmare. Little Gaara's stomach churned and he's heart felt as if it was being torn into a million pieces as he stared into the almost lifeless face of Yashamaru. "You did well…Gaara…" He said to him in a weak voice. Tears ran hot down Little Gaara's face as he tried to understand what had just happened. Why was Yashamaru trying to kill him when just two days before he had said he was precious to him! Why was the only person till today that had ever even bothered with him suddenly trying to destroy his existence? It made no sense! Yashamaru tried to breath and coughed up blood. "Why?" Little Gaara needed to know. "Yashamaru, why did you… You… You… I thought you were…" Visions of their last conversation wouldn't pass. "Why?" To that Yashamaru simply replied, "It was an order." Little Gaara stared in horror. "I was ordered to kill you, by your father, Kazekage-sama" _WHAT! _Little Gaara threw up right there at the thought of his father ordering an assassination of him, his only son. "Father? Why?" Yashamaru replied weakly, "You were born with the Shukaku then observed like a lab rat, Gaara. But it soon became clear that you couldn't control its power or the sand on your own, you were found to be a danger to the Village Hidden in the Sand." A ray of hope flashed in Little Gaara as he said, "Then you did this unwillingly. You had to obey my father. You had no choice." To that Yashamaru remained silent. "That's not entirely true." Yashamaru shattered Little Gaara's hope and his whole psyche along with it. "It is true that I received the order of assassination from your father. But I could have refused it if I wanted to." Little Gaara just stared at him. "Deep within my heart, I truly hate you. You took the life of my sister. You were her child and I tried to think of you as such but the truth is….you were never loved. She gave birth to you unwillingly. She cursed this village and after that, I carried a wound in my heart that never healed." Yashamaru paused to cough up more blood then continued. "My sister gave you your name. Gaara, an enemy of the gods in Hindu mythology that loves only himself. Gaara, love only yourself and fight for no one but you. It is only by doing this that you can continue to exist in this world. But my sister did not give you this name out of maternal affection or love. She gave you that name Gaara out of her undying rage towards that village that sacrificed her. She wanted her deep hatred to live on in you. You were never loved!" After finishing his last conversation with his nephew, Yashamaru opened his vest, revealing a layer of air-sensitive paper bombs. They lit and smoldered as he said, "This is the end. Please die…"

At the same time as the blast occurred, Anya was at the orphanage starring out her window the moon. Her feet were up on her bed

Gaara didn't even attempt to move out of the blast zone. After just being told his father wanted him dead and that his mother never really cared for him, Gaara didn't feel like there was anything worth living for. But the sand had other ideas. The smoke cleared, the sand stayed hardened, Gaara was left crying on the rooftop. _Love_. Gaara finally broke down and boar the image of love on his forehead. The image of love that he had never known. The love that he now felt he would never get. He felt alone, worthless, and used…

It was at this time that another shinobi was making a surprise appearance to one other such child in the village. Anya was too encased in the radiance and brightness of the moon that she neither heard the bomb that had occurred on the other end of the village nor did she feel the rush of breeze that caressed her hair and cheeks as the shinobi snuck into her room through the door…

End Chapter

And I'll end at a cliffhanger! Nyeh! Don't worry, there's more to come soon! 3


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